The Lakers barely held off the reloaded Mavericks at home, then got clobbered in Dallas. The Mavs proved they can shoot their way past L.A., but what was that blowout in Portland all about? Meanwhile, the Kings looked impressive in beating the Sixers in Philly and seem to be getting more comfortable on the road.

Team/Record	Prev rank/ Last week	Skinny
THE TEAM TO BEAT
1. Kings 48-18	3/3-1	Capped East Coast trip with wins at Philly and Toronto. Forget about the loss at the Garden. Chris Webber didn't play against the Knicks due to a dislocated finger.
TITLE CONTENDERS
2t. Lakers 47-19	1/3-1	Champs kept their cool at game's end Tuesday, but they have to be worried about Kobe's combined 9-for-32 against Mavs.
2t. Mavericks 47-20	2/2-2	Bounced back from close loss in L.A. to make quite a statement at home in rematch rout of defending champs.
4. Blazers 41-25	4/3-0	Posted easy wins over Mavs and Wiz at home and Celtics in Boston. Had won 15 of 16 going into Wednesday.
5. Spurs 45-21	6/2-0	Beat up weak teams during win streak, but Saturday's victory over Celtics for ninth straight W was a quality victory.
ENTITLED SOME RESPECT
6. Celtics 38-29	8/2-2	Beat the Nets but couldn't match the muscle of two of the West's best in Spurs and Blazers.
7. Nets 42-25	7/2-2	Another week, another flagrant foul for the irascible Kenyon Martin. Is he ever going to learn?
8. T-Wolves 41-26	5/1-3	Seven-game losing streak mercifully came to an end against the bum Raptors on Tuesday.
9. Pistons 39-27	11/4-1	Won first game at Utah since Bad Boys heyday, snapping an 11-game losing streak dating to 1989.
10. 76ers 35-31	9/1-2	Iverson for MVP campaign gained more steam after A.I.'s 34th 30-point game of the season in win over Heat.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT US
11. Sonics 38-30	12/2-1	Need of bodies necessitated the early return of Vin Baker. Sonics were just fine without him, going 12-5 in his absence.
12. Magic 37-30	16/4-0	Doc Rivers buried the hatchet with George Karl, then watched T-Mac bury the Bucks with 48 points.
13. Heat 30-35	10/1-2	They've come so far that they can't afford to slow down now, even with four straight games against playoff teams coming up.
14. Jazz 36-31	14/2-2	Still have Clippers breathing down their neck for West's eighth and final playoff spot.
15. Bucks 36-30	13/0-3	The Bucks had better watch out. They're in danger of pulling a Raptors and sliding their way out of the playoffs.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
16. Pacers 34-32	17/2-0	Took four-game win streak into crucial stretch of seven consecutive games against East playoff teams.
17. Hornets 33-33	18/3-0	With Mash, Baron and Wesley together again, you get the feeling their three-game win streak is just the tip of what's ahead.
18. Clippers 35-33	15/2-2	Flu and injuries have plagued the Clips, who need to stay close to Utah before crucial home-and-home with Jazz.
JORDAN WATCH
19. Wizards 31-36	20/2-2	He's coming back (again). But can MJ accomplish what he intended to do: bring the playoffs to D.C.?
ONE WORD: LOTTERY
20. Suns 30-37	19/0-3	Sun has started to set on Phoenix's season after 0-4 road trip and five-game losing streak.
21. Knicks 26-40	24/3-1	Van Gundy said Scott Layden shouldn't have been surprised he was pondering a quick exit. Nice communication.
22. Raptors 30-38	21/0-2	Bad Raps hit rock bottom with most lopsided loss of the season, a 112-80 debacle in Minneapolis.
23. Cavaliers 25-42	23/2-2	Box score doesn't show it, but game clock operator at Gund Arena got the assist on Murray's winning 3 against Nets.
24. Rockets 25-42	22/1-3	Firmly believe they'd be playoff-bound if it wasn't for injuries. Will they settle for playoff spoiler?
25. Hawks 23-39	25/1-1	Why would Jerry West come out of semiretirement to take over this perpetual rebuilding project?
TOUGH TO WATCH
26. Nuggets 19-45	26/0-4	It's official: Wins by Seattle and Utah on Tuesday mathematically eliminated Denver from the playoffs.
27. Bulls 17-51	27/1-2	Tuesday's loss to Atlanta, fifth straight at home, made them 5-11 since blockbuster trade with Indiana.
28. Grizzlies 17-50	28/0-3	Owner Michael Heisley: "I think we're a couple of good players away from being a strong playoff team." In the NBDL maybe.
29. Warriors 17-49	29/0-4	A rumor too good to be true for Warriors fans: Owner Chris Cohan selling the team ... to Jerry West.